Social Security benefit calculator confusion - does it assume continued earnings until FRA?

Yes, the SSA benefit calculator does assume you'll continue earning at roughly the same level until you reach your Full Retirement Age (FRA). This is their default calculation method. When you input zeros for future earnings, you're seeing the accurate reduction that would occur if you stopped working now. Your Social Security retirement benefit is calculated based on your 35 highest-earning years, so if you stop working before FRA and have some lower-earning years or zeros in your 35-year calculation, it can definitely reduce your monthly benefit amount.

i had the SAME EXACT question last yr!! the ssa website is so confusing omg. but yah they assume u keep making the same $ until whenever u say ur gonna retire. messed me up 2 when planning

The SSA benefit estimator makes several assumptions that aren't always clear: 1. It assumes you'll continue earning at your recent average until you reach FRA 2. It assumes you'll work the entire year in the current year 3. It applies COLA increases based on their formulas When you manually zero out future earnings, you're getting a more accurate picture of what you'd receive if you stopped working today. This is because Social Security calculates your benefit using the 35 highest-earning years of your work history, adjusted for inflation. If you have fewer than 35 years of earnings, zeros are factored in, which lowers your benefit amount. If you're seriously considering stopping work before FRA, I'd recommend requesting your detailed earnings history from SSA and perhaps consulting with a financial advisor who specializes in retirement planning. The difference in monthly benefits can add up to tens of thousands over a retirement lifetime.

I ran into this exact issue last year! The numbers on the SSA site kept changing and it was driving me nuts. My brother-in-law works at H&R Block and he explained that the calculator assumes you'll keep earning what you've earned on average the last few years until you hit retirement age. It's honestly pretty misleading if you ask me!

I thought the same thing and was shocked when my actual benefit was less than expected! They should make this clearer on their website. So frustrating.

I actually called the SSA about this exact question when I was planning my retirement. Spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to someone. Nothing but busy signals and disconnects after waiting on hold forever. Finally I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real person at SSA in under 20 minutes. The agent explained that yes, the calculator assumes continued earnings at your current level until whatever retirement age you select. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Worth it to get a real person to explain your specific situation because the online calculators really don't make their assumptions clear.

The earnings estimates are TOTALLY MANIPULATED by the government to trick us into working longer!!! They want us to keep paying into the system and not taking benefits as long as possible. That's why they make the numbers look higher if you keep working. The whole system is rigged against early retirement. My cousin worked at SSA for 15 years and told me all about how they manipulate the numbers to discourage people from claiming early!!!

To add to my earlier comment, there's another factor to consider: when you input zero for future earnings, the calculator is showing you what your benefit would be if you filed for benefits RIGHT NOW at your current age (63). If you plan to stop working now but delay filing until your FRA, your benefit would be higher than what the calculator shows with zeros. This is because while you wouldn't be adding more earnings, you'd get the delayed retirement credits by waiting to file. The SSA calculator doesn't handle this scenario well - it assumes you start benefits when you stop working unless you specifically indicate otherwise. For the most accurate estimate, you might want to use the detailed calculator on the SSA website rather than the quick calculator.

My husband had the same problem with the calculator last year. We just gave up and went to the local SSA office in person.

This is such a common source of confusion! I went through the exact same thing when I was planning my retirement at 64. The SSA calculator definitely assumes you'll keep earning at your current level until whatever retirement age you select - it's like their default setting. What really helped me was creating a spreadsheet with different scenarios: stopping work now vs. working part-time vs. full-time until FRA. The $270 difference you're seeing is likely accurate if you stop working completely. That's because Social Security uses your highest 35 years of earnings, so if you have some lower-earning years early in your career, continuing to work at $68,500 would replace those lower years in the calculation. One thing to also consider is that if you stop working now but can afford to wait until your FRA to actually claim benefits, you'd get a higher amount than what the calculator shows when you put zeros in. The calculator often assumes you're claiming benefits when you stop working, but you can stop working and delay claiming to avoid the early retirement penalty.

I'm dealing with this exact same situation right now! I'm 62 and was completely confused by the different benefit estimates I was seeing. What really helped me understand it was realizing that the SSA calculator is basically doing two different calculations: 1. When it assumes continued earnings: It's projecting that you'll keep earning $68,500 until your FRA, which might replace some of your lower-earning years from earlier in your career in that "highest 35 years" calculation. 2. When you put in zeros: It's showing what your benefit would be based on your earnings history as it stands today, with no additional high-earning years to boost the average. The $270 difference you're seeing is probably real - that's potentially $3,240 per year or about $97,000 over a 30-year retirement. But like others mentioned, you don't have to claim benefits the moment you stop working. If you can bridge the gap financially, stopping work at 63 but waiting until 67 to claim could give you a much better outcome than claiming early. I ended up scheduling an appointment at my local SSA office because I wanted someone to walk through my specific numbers with me. Sometimes having a real person explain it makes all the difference!

I'm going through this exact same confusion right now at 64! What's been helpful for me is understanding that the SSA calculator is basically showing you two different scenarios - one where you keep contributing to your "highest 35 years" calculation, and one where you don't. The key thing I learned is that Social Security benefits are based on your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) from your 35 highest-earning years. If you haven't had 35 full years of substantial earnings, or if some of your early career years were at much lower wages, then continuing to work at $68,500 could potentially replace those lower-earning years in the calculation. That $270/month difference ($3,240 annually) is significant, but remember - you have options beyond just "work until FRA" or "stop working and claim now." You could stop working at 63, preserve your health and enjoy some freedom, but delay claiming until your FRA to avoid the early retirement reduction. This way you'd get the full benefit based on your current earnings history without the penalty for claiming early. I'd suggest looking at your Social Security Statement to see your year-by-year earnings history. That'll help you understand whether continuing to work would actually replace some lower-earning years or if you've already maximized your benefit calculation.

I'm new to this community but facing the exact same confusion! At 64, I've been staring at those SSA calculator numbers for weeks trying to figure out what they actually mean. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - especially learning that stopping work and claiming benefits don't have to happen simultaneously. What strikes me most is how poorly the SSA website explains their assumptions. It really should be more transparent that the calculator defaults to assuming continued earnings until your selected retirement age. That seems like pretty critical information that shouldn't be buried or left for people to discover through trial and error. I'm definitely going to pull my detailed earnings statement now to see if continuing to work would actually replace lower-earning years or not. And the idea of creating a spreadsheet with different scenarios sounds like a smart approach to cut through all the confusion. Has anyone here actually gone the route of stopping work early but delaying their claim until FRA? I'd be curious to hear how that worked out in practice - both financially and in terms of quality of life during those bridge years.

I'm 65 and went through this exact same confusion two years ago! The SSA calculator really is misleading about its assumptions. What helped me the most was calling and speaking to an actual SSA representative who walked through my specific situation. Here's what I learned that might help you: that $270 monthly difference you're seeing is likely accurate, but there's a third option you might not have considered. You could stop working now at 63, but delay filing for benefits until your Full Retirement Age at 67. This way you'd avoid the early retirement penalty (which can reduce benefits by 20-25% if you claim at 63) while not adding any more earnings years. The catch is you'd need to support yourself for those 4 years without Social Security income, but if you can manage it financially, you'd get your full unreduced benefit based on your current earnings history. In my case, I worked part-time just enough to cover basic expenses and used some savings - it was actually a really nice transition into full retirement. Also, definitely request your complete earnings record from SSA. It'll show you exactly which years might be replaced if you continue working. In my case, I had some very low-earning years from the 1980s that would have been replaced by continuing to work, but the math still worked out better to stop early and delay claiming.

I'm dealing with this same issue at 62 and it's been driving me crazy! The SSA calculator definitely assumes you'll keep earning at your current level until whatever retirement age you select - I had to figure this out through trial and error too. What really helped me understand the numbers was realizing that when you put in zeros for future earnings, you're seeing what your benefit would be based on your actual earnings history up to now. The calculator doesn't make it clear that this is probably assuming you'd claim benefits immediately at 63 rather than stopping work but waiting to claim. I ended up meeting with a financial advisor who specializes in Social Security planning, and she explained that I have three main options: 1) Keep working until FRA and get the higher benefit, 2) Stop working and claim now with the reduced amount, or 3) Stop working now but delay claiming until FRA to get the full unreduced benefit. That third option is what I'm leaning toward - it means bridging 5 years without Social Security income, but avoiding both the early retirement penalty AND the stress of continuing to work when I'm ready to be done. The key is making sure I can afford those bridge years and have a solid health insurance plan. Have you looked into what your benefit would be if you stopped working at 63 but waited until 67 to claim? That might give you a clearer picture of your real options.